Norwich Freedom Bell rings for Antietam anniversary

Sunday

Sep 23, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 23, 2012 at 11:03 PM

As a roster of Eastern Connecticut soldiers who fell during the 1862 Battle of Antietam was read in front of City Hall on Saturday, Norwich’s newly forged Freedom Bell rang 22 times in somber acknowledgement of their sacrifice.

Adam Benson

As a roster of Eastern Connecticut soldiers who fell during the 1862 Battle of Antietam was read in front of City Hall on Saturday, Norwich’s newly forged Freedom Bell rang 22 times in somber acknowledgement of their sacrifice.

They were killed on Sept. 17, 1862, in what remains the single bloodiest day in American history. They were among more than 23,000 total casualties in a 12-hour fight that ultimately allowed President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

“I think the Civil War has in general been difficult for people to talk about, because it’s a blemish on our history. But in crisis is when the country shines,” said Kevin Harkins, a member of the city’s Emancipation Proclamation Commemorative Committee.

Lincoln issued the proclamation as an executive order on Jan. 1, 1863, but delivered a preliminary version of the proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, five days after Antietam. The measure outlawed slavery in the Confederacy, though it wasn’t made illegal everywhere until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in December 1865.

As organizers plan for a major celebration on Jan. 1 to mark the 150th anniversary of the historic document taking effect, they invited prominent Lincoln portrayer Lewis Dube to read the proclamation as a prelude to this winter’s festivities, which will include a 100-cannon salute and the ringing of bells city-wide for an hour.

In addition to a performance by state troubadour Tom Callinan, of Norwich, the event featured a keynote address by state Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, whose ancestors were held as slaves in North Carolina.

“The Emancipation Proclamation is a part of history that will be ingrained in our lives forever,” said Hewett, a former New London mayor. “When I think about slavery, I think about my own family history. My roots are in black and white. Slave and slave owners.”

Though more than a century removed from the deaths of 22 young men who served in the 8th, 11th and 14th Connecticut infantry units at Antietam, those who took part on Saturday honored the soldiers contribution toward creating a unified America.

“Let this bell be symbolic of all those that paid with their lives so we can have freedom,” said the Rev. Betty White, pastor of Evans Memorial AME Zion Church in Norwich. “Help us always remember the depths of freedom’s worth.”

George Violette, of Lisbon, whose grandfather spent 4 ? years in the Union Army, said he appreciates the dose of history Norwich is offering in the run-up to January’s celebration.

“I love to see this,” Violette said. “I come here as often as they have Abraham Lincoln here.”